Game of the ball and mallet type



Oct. 19, 1948. N. M. PARKE 2,451,770

GAME OF THE BALL AND MALLET TYPE Filed Feb. 18, 1946 NORMAN M. PA RKEPatented Oct. 19, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,451,770

GAME OF THE BALL AND MALLET TYPE Norman M. Parke, Jacksonville, Fla.Application February 18, 1946, Serial No. 648,271

' 2 Claims. (01. 273-427) This invention relates to games, and moreparticularly to a game adapted to be played indoors on a rug, oroutdoors on a lawn.

An object of the invention'is to provide a game combining in a, novelform, features of croquet, in a novel setting increasing theopportunities of the player to exercise skill and judgment.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved gameapparatus adapted to facilitate the playing of the game.

The invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement andcombinations of parts hereinafter more particularly described andclaimed.

One sheet of drawings accompanies this specification as part thereof inwhich like referenc characters indicate like parts throughout.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the arrangement of the game apparatus at thecommencement of the game.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical cross section taken on line 2-2 ofFig. 1 showing the details of construction of a. ball trap.

Fig. 3 is a perspective View illustrating the plurality of ball trapsarranged in nested position when not in use.

In accordance with the present invention, the apparatus used comprisestwelve consecutively numbered balls 8 of uniform size, twelveconsecutively numbered ball traps, and a mallet for knocking the balls.

In playing the game, the ball traps are arranged in a circle conformingwith the positions of the hour marks on a clock and at the commencementof the game, the balls are arranged in perpendicular lines extendingfrom the center toward selected ball traps. As herein illustrated, theballs in Fig. 1 are arranged in lines extending from the center towardthe ball traps positioned to correspond with the clock marks 6 and 9with five balls in each line additional to the center ball and thetwelfth ball positioned adjacent the trap located to correspond withhour mark 2. Briefly, ball number 1 will be the initially played balllocated adjacent the circumference and the central ball will be number 2with the other balls arranged alternately and progressively from thecenter toward the circumference as illustrated.

To start the play, the first player will strike ball number 1, aiming atthe formation of balls with a view to breaking that formation.Thereafter he will be at liberty to choose any ball in the field andendeavor to drive that ball into any one of the ball traps. If theplayer scores he will be entitled to another turn and continues to playuntil he fails to score or play a ball within a trap. Then the nextplayer takes over, selecting any ball in the field and plays until hefails to score. The balls will be left in the ball traps after scoringand the game ends when all the ball traps are filled.

The preferred scoring for the game would credit each player on eachscoring with the sum of the points indicated by the number of the balland the number of the ball trap into which he succeeds in driving it.Thus, if ball number 6 is driven into ball trap number 9, the playerwould be credited fifteen points. If ball number 12 is hit out-of-boundsby the same player, his score would be reduced by the twelve-point valueof that ball. Balls knocked outside of the circular clock arrangementare to be considered out-ofbounds and the player penalized by the numberof points marked on the ball and the ball is returned to the center ofthe clock dial for further playing.

The improved ball traps herein illustrated comprise spaced parallel sidewalls 2-2 connected at one end with an end wall 3 and by a bottom whichis constituted by a middle transverse vertical wall portion 6, the uppersurface of the bottom being inclined from the top of the vertical wallportion 6 toward the front or open end of the trap while the rearportion of the bottom extends from the middle vertical wall portion 6 tothe closed end wall 3 constituting a dwell 1 adapted to retainpositively any ball driven into the trap beyond the vertical wall drop6. Preferably, the ball traps will be made of slightly varying sizes topermit their nesting when not in use and this feature can be utilized inthe game by making the traps having the lower values the wider, whilethe traps having the higher values are progressively narrower. The dwelll is of such size relative to the size of the balls that only one ballcan be contained in each dwell, the entry of a ball into an occupieddwell being blocked by the presence of the occupied ball.

The balls in playing can be set up initially in different parts of theclock arrangement but the perpendicular arrangement of the balls at theoutset and the feature of breaking the balls is recommended as addingmaterially to the attractiveness of the game.

Various modifications will also suggest themselves in connection withthe construction of the ball traps but all within the scope of thepresent invention as claimed.

side Walls and end wall a dwell for a ball, the

diameter of the balls relative to the length and width dimensions of thedwells being such that a dwell can be occupied by only one ball at onetime. r

'2. Clock game comprising twelve balls of uniform size, an equal numberof open mouthed ball traps into which said balls are to be projected,

each ball trap comprising spaced parallel side.

walls and an end wall connecting the side walls, a bottom formed with amedial transverse drop, that portion forward of the drop being inclinedupwardly from the open mouth, and that. portion between the drop and endwall constituting a.

dwell for a ball the length and width dimensions of the dwell withrespect to the diameter of a. ball being such that said dwell can beoccupied by only one ball at one time, said ball traps being arranged atequal intervals about the circumference of a circle with their openmouths facing the center.

NORMAN M. PARKE.

' 1 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the fiIeof this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 74,022 Wheat Feb. 4, 1868 82,370Wilson Sept. 22, 1868 V 3313-56 Baker Dec. 8, 1885 718,924 Foulis Jan.20, 1903 722,603. Morgan v Mar. 10., 1903 814= ,46.3, .Linderman Mar. 1,1,906 1,118,727 Bibeault Nov. 24, 1914 1,3,70,1'71. Velasco. Mar. 1',1921 1,428,483 Meuris'se Dec. 5, 1923

